I Am a Valiant Warrior

Maybe you’re not feeling like one today. That’s possibly the same way Gideon felt on the day the Lord came to him. “Gideon, valiant warrior.” Those are the words God used to describe Gideon while he was down in the winepress threshing wheat and hiding from the Midianites. Threshing floors (where Gideon was supposed to be threshing the wheat) are always exposed in a high, open air setting to take advantage of the soft, steady winds for the wheat to more easily fall and be separated from the chaff.

Winepresses are for crushing grapes. Threshing floors are for threshing wheat. But Gideon is so afraid of the Midianites that he was threshing the wheat in a secluded, damp, isolating place so his enemy wouldn’t find the wheat and steal it away.

Real warrior like, huh?

Gideon is not supposed to be afraid of the Midianites; he and his people are supposed to drive them out. But his fear has taken hold of him. Maybe you can relate to that. Fearful Israelites…? It was not supposed to be this way, so God came to Gideon… (Judges 6:11-12).

When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, the LORD is with you, valiant warrior. Judges 6:12

Gideon and his tribe had been praying to God to send someone else to rescue them. Sound familiar? God please send help soon! But, is God calling you?

God called Gideon to be the one to lead the Israelites into battle and drive out their enemy because God saw something in Gideon, something that Gideon didn’t see in himself–

Valiant Warrior!

GOD saw Gideon and named him a Valiant Warrior before Gideon was ever aware that any sort of warrior like quality could possibly exist within him.

But then, there’s God’s view of who Gideon was and Joshua 6:34 happens, “The spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon.”= identity change.

And all throughout the story of Gideon we read how God made him a valiant warrior; filling him with His spirit, answering his prayers, giving him wisdom to sift men as wheat, scaling down his army to only 300 and going against the enemy into an intense battle with weapons of trumpets and empty jars! This could only be–Valiant Warrior Gideon!

(I personally like unshrinking! “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and are saved.”) Hebrews 10:39

This whole situation could not have made sense to Gideon. Gideon must have been shaking his head in wonder of the God of Israel, and at the same time, maybe smiling in awe and anticipation because at this point he had a history of God’s faithfulness to draw from… so Gideon did as God told him.

God met Gideon “down in the winepress” and reminded him who he was… a valiant warrior. Don’t feel sorry for Gideon, he was right in the place God could meet him.

Sometimes our circumstances can position us in the very place where He can meet us and prove to us who He says we are. God told Gideon he was a Mighty Warrior, and indeed he was! Gideon learned this new name for himself one way-by BELIEVING GOD and listening to the call of God on his life! Gideon believed he was who God said he was.

And… Gideon “went in the strength the Lord gave him and saved Israel out of Midian’s hands.” “… all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.” Judges 6:15, 7:21

This makes me laugh… I can just picture it–there were 400 Midianite “warrior wanna-be’s” for everyone 1 Israelite–yet the Midianites are crying and running away from an army of guys with trumpets and broken jars!

Awww… the power of God.

Victory!

Why does God’s word share these types of stories? Because He is always gracious enough to remind us what He REALLY DID SAY in His word about who He is and who we are.

Here’s another fun I am… I am snatched.

Once again…. The Israelites were snatched from the hand of their oppressors. (Judges 6:9)